The Boys Of Yesterday
by paws-bells
Summary: ONE SHOT. Tomite's and Hikitsu's POV about being immortalised to guard the Shinzaho.


**Title:** The Boys of Yesterday

**Author:** paws-bells

**Genre:** General/Angst

**Word Count:** 1788

**Type:** One-Shot (Complete)

**Rating:** K (Content suitable for most ages)

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Fushigi Yuugi, nor do I own rights to the translated version of the lyrics to the Hikitsu/Tomite song, Kimi ga Hohoemu Nara (English translation: If You Smile). However, the characterizations of the Genbu seishis in this fic are purely from my imagination, any similarities from fics of other authors are purely coincidental.

**Summary:** Tomite and Hikitsu's POV on being immortalized to guard the Shinzaho.

**Last Revised on:** 28/10/2007

**

* * *

The Boys of Yesterday

* * *

**

Hikitsu:

We were the last of our group.

The only ones left on the mortal realm, that is.

_

* * *

The foreign lullaby you sing to yourself... _

_I thought I could hear _

_Its sweet, heartbreaking melody. _

_Ah...Is it alright to rest? _

_No matter how much time passes, _

_The flame that burned the sky _

_Continues endlessly. _

_Ah...Fighting against.

* * *

_

If someone ever tells you that it is a blessing to be immortalized, they are lying.

Living a life of an immortal is a living hell, pun fully intended. Only that this hell would never end.

How could immortality be a blessing when all you can do is stand there and watch the people you love slowly die around you?

How could immortality be a blessing when you know that there is nothing you can do to help them? That you are utterly helpless?

How could immortality be a blessing?

No, it is a curse.

Imagine Tomite's and my reaction when we realized what was happening to us.

Yes, I would admit that we were overjoyed at first. But that faded soon after, especially when we realized that only the two of us were chosen.

What about the rest?

Takiko?

Uruki?

Hatsui?

What about them?

_

* * *

An anguished prayer on behalf of all people _

_And then a worn-out, sad person.

* * *

_

"No," Genbu had said. "They are not going to be immortalized like the two of you."

They were going to be reincarnated.

All of their memories of swashbuckling adventures, true friendships and shared hardship together with us would be erased.

It was a bitter realization.

The two of us did not even got to say our farewell. We were told to stay on the mortal realm instead, to guard the Shinzaho.

I was furious.

The Shinzaho was but an object. True, it was a celestial gift from Genbu, but our friendship with each other, the bonds that the eight of us shared, they would forever be infinitely more important than a mere inanimate entity.

_

* * *

If you smile, _

_I can take any kind of pain; _

_Even if this body perishes. _

_If you smile, _

_I'm sure my spirit will be resurrected, _

_Because I was born _

_To protect your dreams

* * *

_

But orders are orders, and we cannot refute our duties. We were bound to this Shinzaho for as long as eternity for all we knew.

After all, isn't this Shinzaho the reason why we are immortalized in the first place?

Tomite:

I was beginning to hate this life that I am being forced to lead. This dratted, immortal, life.

I hate the Shinzaho.

Because of it, Hikitsu and I have to suffer.

We wandered around Hokkan at first, like a pair of lost children.

However, that did not last long.

Why?

_

* * *

I want to become much stronger. _

_I've wished for that. _

_I won't be driven off by weakness. _

_I won't be defeated by anyone. _

_Ah...I was revering myself _

_But when I met you, _

_For the first time, I realized _

_That no matter where you take my trust, _

_You take my love. _

_Ah...That's true strength.

* * *

_

It was becoming more and more painful.

Everywhere we went, we were bombarded by memories.

So many memories.

Some were bittersweet, others downright hilarious.

But always, we were always reminded of our friends. Fallen comrades. Our families. Our lives.

It was a wonder that those memories did not drive us to our knees.

I think Hikitsu felt the same way too, though I never asked.

It was too painful.

_

* * *

You console and heal my frozen heart. _

_You're a gentle person, resembling the soft sunlight.

* * *

_

Sometimes, we find ourselves involuntarily talking about our miko or our fellow seishis.

Those conversations always end awkwardly.

Thus, we try not to do that.

But it was hard.

It was very hard not to.

I suppose that it was because of the fact that the two of us were always unconsciously expecting them to come up and interrupt our conversation.

Still unconsciously thinking that we were still together.

One big family.

United.

We'd expect Takiko to rush in suddenly to try to convince us to follow some hilariously silly scheme that she had just come up with.

We'd expect Uruki to float past on his wind and bash us on the head for no reason whatsoever.

We'd expect Hatsui to run to us, complaining about how the others kept trying to get him to lose some weight.

We'd expect too much, and every time that happens, the bubble breaks and we fall hard.

Back to painful reality again.

_

* * *

If you smile _

_I'd do anything for that. _

_Even if I live the kind of life that is only pain _

_If you smile _

_I'd overcome a thousand nights. _

_I promise that, until your dreams are realized, _

_I will not be defeated.

* * *

_

That's why I hate the Shinzaho.

However, because of duty, we are obligated to do it, to guard the bloody thing.

But sometimes I think, and I realize that I should not be mad at this responsibility.

After all, it was duty that had brought us Genbu shichi seishi and miko together.

It was duty that had given me all my best friends.

It was duty that had given me a sense of belonging.

I should be so glad.

But then, when I think a little more, I also realize that it was also duty that had parted us.

One full circle.

Duty has led me this far.

Hikitsu:

By unspoken but mutual agreement, the two of us decided to find somewhere...not so poignant with memories.

We settled at last in a cave at the peak of Mount Black.

It was cold and dark, but we did not mind.

We were dead anyway, and thus could not feel anything.

Other than emotions.

Because of this reason, the cave was much better than the outside world.

The two of us were getting weary from all the memories that we had made with Takiko and the other seishis.

_

* * *

If you smile, _

_I can take any kind of pain; _

_Even if this body perishes.

* * *

_

So, we told Genbu of our decision and surprisingly, he agreed.

He put in an alter for the Shinzaho and a huge pair of doors enclosed the shrine.

We guarded the shrine from petty robbers and thieves for the next three hundred years.

Tomite:

The time spent in Mount Black was endless.

It was eternity to us.

We never saw the sky, so we did not know the time.

On and off, there would be a thief or two to entertain us but most of the time, Hikitsu and I spent talking.

Three hundred years was a very long time, and it was amazing that I had used them all on reflections, on thinking about my life so far, on the good, and the bad.

There would be a lot of things I would like to change if I were to be able to turn back time.

_

* * *

If you smile _

_I'd overcome a thousand nights. _

_I promise that, until your dreams are realized, _

_I will not be defeated.

* * *

_

However, to my surprise, no matter how much I recall the time I spent as a seishi, protecting my miko and watching out for my fellow seishis, I know that I would never try to do anything to change one bit of it.

They were too perfect.

The best times of my life.

Somehow, I remember every little detail, like the first time I met Takiko and had mistaken her for Uruki's lover, like how Uruki and I used to duke it out and how Takiko used to employ her weapon on us to make us see sense.

I cannot help but smile at those memories...

All of a sudden, there was a huge rumbling sound outside.

I look at Hikitsu even when I myself felt a surge of hope.

Will the next person who comes in be the one to free us from this obligation, from this curse?

Hikitsu:

The Suzaku no miko had proven her position by being able to break out of my power.

Only a miko could do that.

If there was anything that I had learnt from Takiko, it is that mikos are a stubborn lot. They do not give up easily.

'So this is the one whom we have been waiting for,' I thought.

"Suzaku no miko, will you please follow me?"

"Hai, Hikitsu-san."

I watched as the brunette followed behind Tomite and I.

The three of us, followed by her suspicious seishis, walked to the huge pair of doors that guarded the shrine.

"Sugoi..." I heard her whisper.

I glance at Tomite before turning to the girl.

I was struck again by how different she looked from our Takiko.

The Suzaku no miko was smaller, a little rounder and very cheerful. However, I sensed that she had a strong streak of determination that was not unlike our own beloved miko.

"Anou..." She looked at me and I broke out of my thoughts.

"For three hundred years," I began. "Our sheer willpower had kept these doors closed. Now it is the time to reopen them."

Tomite and I focused on our ki briefly, and the majestic doors creaked open.

The opening of the doors did something to me. It was a feeling as if a great weight had been lifted from my shoulders. I knew without doubt that Tomite was feeling the same way too.

We stepped into the shrine.

Tomite:

"We wish you all the best in your summoning of Suzaku." I heard Hikitsu tell the small group.

The Suzaku no miko is a good person; that is glaringly obvious. It is also very apparent that her five seishis love her and would protect her out of love, not duty.

Again, this reminded me of how we, the Genbu shichi seishis were with Takiko.

I sincerely hope that none in this group would end up like Hikitsu or me.

"Hai, good luck." Which is why I said that impromptu.

I was not planning on talking much at all, but I sincerely wished all of them happiness, and that they would cherish every single moment together.

The girl turned then, to look at us.

"Where are you two going after we leave?"

I look at Hikitsu.

I can scarcely believe that our suffering was finally coming to an end.

"After these doors close, we will return to heaven." Hikitsu said.

The girl and her seishis seemed satisfied with that answer.

Their departing backs were the last things that we saw before the doors that we have so faithfully guarded for the past three hundred years closed gently for the last time.

_

* * *

The foreign lullaby you sing to yourself... _

_After having waited for so long, _

_The morning sun rises. _

_Is it alright to rest now?

* * *

_

Owari

* * *

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--paws


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